MESA, Ariz. (CBS) – Marlon Byrd filled up the reporter’s notebook on Saturday. The first thing you noticed seeing is that there is less of him… 20 pounds to be exact.

Byrd has been working with a doctor in New York on a multitude of things, and in the process, he found out that he’s allergic to mustard seeds. In his words, “Who would have thought that.”

You also can’t help but notice that Byrd has a giant new tattoo on his right arm that extends almost from his shoulder to his wrist. It’s a speech by Teddy Roosevelt titled, “The Man And The Arena” from 1910. The tattoo took nine hours to place on his arm and necessitated two sittings.

“My wife sends this speech to me prior to every season and I read it so I wanted to put it on my arm as a reminder,” he said.

As for being underdogs for the upcoming season Byrd said: “I like flying under the radar. Cincinnati used it to win in 2010. I know everyone is counting us out and have us down with the Astros and Pirates, but that’s fine with us. It’s who’s there at the end of the season that counts not who’s picked to win it in advance.”

This is the last season of a three-year contract for Byrd who definitely wants to remain in Chicago.

“I don’t want to go anywhere,” he said. “I came to Chicago for a reason and that was to help them win and I haven’t done that yet so I have a lot to still accomplish here. I just have to go out there and do what I can to help this team win and if they want me here I definitely want to stay.”

For more spring training coverage from Mesa, Ariz, click here. Find all of David Schuster’s spring training blogs here and follow him on Twitter (@schumouse).